Maxim Integrated Products has launched a new Teridian/Maxim energy-measurement system on a chip (SoC), the 78M6613. The 78M6613 is the industry's first SoC energy-measurement solution for ac/dc power supplies that brings a higher level of management and control to servers and other equipment in data centers.

The new Teridian/Maxim chip comes as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Energy Star mandates toward greater efficiency and accurate energy measurement in data centers begin to bear down on enterprises around the globe. The 78M6613 enables the capture and reporting of real-time energy data, which provides data center managers with the ability to quantify where energy is needed, being used, and more importantly, being stranded. Visibility into this critical data is an absolute requirement in order to manage and control energy usage in power-starved data centers that cannot keep up with growing demands placed upon them.

"Power capping, load shedding and virtualization are all driving the need for real-time energy measurement and resource management in data centers," said Jay Cormier, Maxim Integrated Products Director, Teridian/Maxim Business Management, Energy Measurement and Communications. "New technology and greater demands on data centers and enterprise networks are all making it even more important to understand where energy is going."

With an embedded analog front-end and compute engine, small footprint, and embedded firmware, the 78M6613 is specifically optimized to address the unique challenges of precision energy measurement inside ac/dc power supplies. As with all Teridian/Maxim brand energy-measurement SoCs, the 78M6613 features accuracy of ±0.5% over a 2000:1 dynamic range, but also provides powerful tools for self-calibration to help facilitate rapid design time and optimal manufacturing costs.

The 78M6613 is a highly integrated, single-phase, fully self-contained AC power-measurement and monitoring SoC integrated circuit with embedded ac load monitoring and control firmware. The small 32-pin QFN package is ideally suited for real-estate-limited designs such as power supplies, where power density and space are a premium. The 78M6613 features the full range of ac power diagnostics, including power, power factor, voltage current, voltage sag and dip. On-chip flash and a microcontroller (MCU) enable the storage of calibration coefficients and eliminate the need for external components.

Initially targeted at server power supplies, the 78M6613 is also suited to energy-measurement needs in data communications and storage equipment. The flexibility of the platform also makes real-time energy measurement a reality for home appliances, home automation networks and building automation.